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Going, Going, But Never Can Say Goodbye: Will the Montrose Party Pad on Harold Survive?

A reader with a longstanding appreciation for the party house at the corner of Harold and Graustark in Montrose writes in to provide a little background on the property for Swamplot readers. After sitting on the market since at least last September — and working its way down $130K to an asking price of $514,900 — the mammoth early-eighties brick in-town home with 4 bedrooms, 4 full- and 3 half-baths, and 4 staircases is now nearing the end of an online foreclosure auction. Who will end up with this 9,111-sq.-ft. prize?

The house is large and an odd mixture of no expense spared features (marble floors throughout, wood floors cut on bias, acres of woodwork…) and typical early 80’s tract home construction techniques. Design features include the dance floor off the master bedroom (complete with freestanding bar and speakers in the wall!), brass banisters on the winding marble staircase, scads of quick exit staircases and mirrors on the ceiling of every shower.

Oooh! Can we see any of that in the pix?

***

Oh, well.

Alas the shifting soils of Houston may do this one in as evidenced by the crumbling portions of the façade. Spectacular amounts of money were spent for what was no doubt the address in Montrose for all sorts of debauchery. My wife and I agreed we were jealous of every single person who partied there. Huge kitchen, enormous closets for hundreds of kimonos and size twelve platforms, conveniently placed gimp room! If walls could talk we would be all ears because that house has some stories.

Somebody buy it and return it to its former glory. We will mix up a batch of Cosmos and bring the Gloria Gaynor.

My grandmother lived across the street from this house until she died in 2001 (her homesite is now three townhomes). When 1302 Harold was under construction we walked through it many times. I don’t remember it being a particularly rowdy or loud place over the years, but I guess debauchery doesn’t have to be loud.

What is the story with the trees by the way? Agreed the house and the street looked better with them. Given the the auction is at $219k right now it looks like the bank may end up getting stuck with it for a while.

I hardly ever wish ill of others, but I walk past that house every week and wish curses upon whoever cut those trees. Fantastic news that it won’t sell. I wouldn’t buy it now even if it were perfect for me and half price.

The photos don’t do all the work in the house justice. They should have shot the pictures with a wide angle.
Aside from goofy paint colors on the wall…the craftsmanship and attention to detail in house was amazing.

I used to live around the corner in the mid to late 1990s. It was extremely quiet – not a Montrose Party House at all.

Someone (a realtor) told me it was custom built for a member of the Pappas family, largely because of its proximity to the Greek Orthodox Church.

I didn’t independently verify this, but if true, some of you will just have to take your poppers to a REAL Montrose party house.

BTW, far fewer than half of Montrose residents are openly gay. That fact seems inconceivable to many, but not to those of us who lived there. Also, not to generalize too much, but unless you’re a bigot, in my experience gay folks make about the best neighbors you could hope for.

The same realtor felt that this home did not lend itself to interior remodel. It was too chopped up; many of the rooms are actually small, and the finishes (as noted) varied widely.

My mother was living there when the house was built and we watched it go up. It was built specifically for one family, to their design and probably won’t work for anyone who does not have the same family set up. The lady of the house, a Mrs. Pappas would occasionally drop by by mother’s and sometimes bring her baked goods. As long as my mother was in the neighborhood, 2001, the family was there and the house was always quiet. A very nice family lived there.

Cutting the trees was a mistake; they served to soften the lines of the house.

I guess I was your mom’s neighbor for awhile.
I think I know the site of her former house, as I used to jog the neighborhood constantly.

I sure preferred her house over the townhouses! Too bad.

It was always my impression that high-quality folks lived at 1302. Unfortunate that people toss out stereotypes and perjoratives on this blog that need correcting. BTW, I was on the 1300 block of Kipling.